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San Francisco State University

California, united states.

The Creative Writing Department at San Francisco State University was established in l968; before that, writing courses were taught in the English Department. In 1991, the M.F.A. degree was added in response to an increasing, nation-wide demand for a terminal degree in the field.

We offer three degree programs: B.A. in Creative Writing, M.A. in Creative Writing, and M.F.A. in Creative Writing. Our curriculum reflects our commitment to a variety of styles, subjects, and approaches, recognizing the complexity and breadth of contemporary writing. Graduates of our Creative Writing Program, Graduate and Undergraduate (creative nonfiction, fiction, playwriting, poetry and starting in 2016, literary translation), are instructed in literary analysis and develop their craft to constructively critique their own work and that of others.

The Creative Writing Department offers several awards in short fiction, the novel, playwriting, and poetry. Students publish two literary magazines, Transfer and Fourteen Hills: The SFSU Review. Each year four to six current graduate students are given part-time teaching positions.

Contact Information

1600 Holloway Avenue Creative Writing Department San Francisco California, United States 94132-4162 Phone: 415-338-1891 Email: [email protected] http://creativewriting.sfsu.edu

Michelle Carter

Publications include Hillary And Soon-Yi Shop For Ties (Dramatic Publishing), Ted Kaczynski Killed People With Bombs (Dramatic Publishing). Awards include PEN USA Literary Award in Drama (2012, 2003); Susan Glaspell Award (2010); NEA Grant in Literature; Sloan Foundation Grant; Gulf & Western Foundation Grant; residency, Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris.

http://creativewriting.sfsu.edu/people/faculty/michelle-carter

Nona Caspers

San Francisco Arts Commission Cultural Equity Grant (2011), Glimmer Train Fiction Award (2010), National Endowment for the Arts Grant (2008). Publications include Little Book of Days (2009) , Heavier than Air: Stories (University of Massachusettes Press 2006) winner of the Grace Paley Prize in Short Fiction.

http://www.nonacaspers.com

Maxine Chernoff

Recipient of National Endowment for the Arts grant (2013). Recent books of poetry are Without , To Be Read in the Dark, A House in Summer, The Turning (Apogee Press, 2008). With Paul Hoover, she translated The Selected Poems of Friedrich Hölderlin, (Omnidawn Press, 2008), which received the 2009 Pen U.S.A. Translation Award.

http://creativewriting.sfsu.edu/people/faculty/maxine-chernoff

Matthew Clark Davison

Awards include San Francisco Arts Commission Cultural Equity Grant. Work published in The Atlantic Monthly, Per Contra, The Creosote Journal, Lodestar Quarterly, Mississippi Review, The Pacific Review, Argestes and other journals. Runs the Douglass Street Lab.

http://www.matthewclarkdavison.com/

Donna de la Perriere

The recipient of a 2009 Fund for Poetry award, Donna de la Perrière is the author of Saint Erasure and True Crime. Her work has appeared in Agni, American Letters and Commentary, Colorado Review, Denver Quarterly, Five Fingers Review, New England Review & Bread Loaf Quarterly, New American Writing, Volt, and other journals. De la Perrière curates the Bay Area Poetry Marathon reading series every summer at The Lab, a gallery and performance space located in San Francisco's Mission district.

http://donnadelaperriere.net/

Steve Dickison

Director of the American Poetry Archives and SFSU Poetry Center. Author of poetry collection Disposed, co-editor of Prison Culture.

http://www.sfsu.edu/~poetry/staff.html

Anne Galjour

Plays produced include Okra, Bird in the Hand, Hurrican. Awards include Bay Area Theater Critics Circle Award, the American Theatre Critics Association Osborn Award for Emerging Playwright.

http://annegaljour.com/

Paul Hoover

Thirteen poetry collections, including desolation : souvenir, In Idiom and Earth, Sonnet 56, Edge and Fold, Poems in Spanish. Awards include PEN-USA Translation Award, Carl Sandberg Award, NEA Fellowship in Poetry.

http://paulhooverpoetry.blogspot.com/

Andrew Joron

Publications include Force Fields, Science Fiction, Invisible Machines, The Removes, Fathom, The Sound Mirror, Trance Archive: New and Selected Poems, The Cry at Zero: Collected Prose, Collected Poems of Gustaf Sobin, ed., and The Collected Poems of Philip Lamantia, ed.

http://creativewriting.sfsu.edu/people/faculty/andrew-joron

Chanan Tigay

Author of the forthcoming Unholy Scriptures: Fraud, Suicide, Scandal—and the Bible that Rocked the Holy City, and two long works of nonfiction, The Special Populations Unit: Arab Soldiers in Israel’s Army (McSweeney’s) and Nuclear Meltdown, (Rodale Press). His journalism has appeared in publications including Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal, New York magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle and The Jerusalem Post. Awards include UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism’s 2011-2012 Investigative Reporting Fellowship and residency fellowships at Yaddo, the Blue Mountain Center and the Mesa Refuge.

http://creativewriting.sfsu.edu/people/faculty/chanan-tigay

May-lee Chai

https://may-leechai.com/

Caro De Robertis

http://www.carolinaderobertis.com/

Michael David Lukas

http://michaeldavidlukas.com/

Tonya Foster

https://tonyafosterpoet.com

Joseph Cassara

https://www.josephcassara.com

Publications & Presses +

Fourteen Hills

Reading Series +

Poetry Center Reading Series ( http://poetry.sfsu.edu/ )

VelRo Reading Series ( https://www.facebook.com/VelRoReadings )

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Academic Director

Laleh Khadivi

Laleh Khadivi is the author of The Kurdish Trilogy which includes The Age of Orphans  (2009),  The Walking (2013), and A Good Country   (2017).

Her fiction and non-fiction have appeared in the LA Times , San Francisco Chronicle , VQR , and The Sun .

She has worked as a documentary filmmaker since 2000 and her films have been screened in festivals and on various cable networks. 

• MFA Mills College

Administrative Director

Micah Ballard

Author of four full-length collections of poetry, The Michaux Notebook (FMSBW), Afterlives (Bootstrap Press, 2016), Waifs and Strays (City Lights Books, 2011), nominated for a California Book Award, and Parish Krewes (Bootstrap Press, 2009), and over a dozen small books, including Muddy Waters (State Champs, 2022), Selected Prose (2008-19) (Blue Press, 2020), Daily Vigs (Bird & Beckett Books, 2019), Vesper Chimes (Gas Meter, 2014), Evangeline Downs (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2006) and Negative...

• MA in Poetics, New College of California
• MFA in Poetics, New College of California

Full-Time Faculty

Dave Madden

Dave Madden is the author of The Authentic Animal: Inside the Odd and Obsessive World of Taxidermy , as well as a collection of short stories. His essays have appeared in Defector ,  the Guardian , Lit Hub , Harper's , Creative Nonfiction , and elsewhere. He's received fellowships from MacDowell, Vermont Studio Center, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, and the Sewanee Writers' Conference.

• PhD (Creative Writing), University of Nebraska-Lincoln

D.A. Powell

D. A. Powell's books include Cocktails (Graywolf, 2004) and Chronic (Graywolf, 2009), both finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry, and Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys (Graywolf, 2012), winner of the 2013 Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry. Powell's awards include the Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America, Kingsley Tufts Prize, two Pushcart Prizes, and the California Book Award. He has taught at Columbia University, University of Iowa, and...

• MA, Sonoma State University
• MFA, Iowa Writers' Workshop

Susan Steinberg

Susan Steinberg is the author of four books of fiction: Machine (Graywolf Press), Spectacle (Graywolf Press), Hydroplane (FC2), and The End of Free Love (FC2).

The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a United States Artists Fellowship, Professor Steinberg has also been awarded the Pushcart Prize and a National Magazine Award. Her stories have appeared in McSweeney's , Conjunctions , The Gettysburg Review , American Short Fiction , Boulevard , Quarterly West , Denver Quarterly , The ...

• MFA, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
• BFA, Maryland Institute College of Art

Part-Time Faculty

Stephen beachy.

Stephen Beachy is a past winner of the Michener Award in fiction. He is the author of several novels and two novellas, including The Whistling Song , Distortion , Some Phantom/No Time Flat ,  boneyard , and Glory Hole . 

His work has also been published in High Risk 2 , New York Times Magazine , Bomb , and Best Gay American Fiction 1996 .

He's the prose editor of Your Impossible Voice .

• MFA in Creative Writing, Iowa Writers' Workshop

Lewis Buzbee

Author of novels  Bridge of Time (2012),  The Haunting of Charles Dickens (2010), winner of the Northern California Book Award, an Edgar Award nominee, and a Judy Lopez memorial Honor book,  Steinbeck's Ghost (2008) which was a Smithsonian Notable Book, the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association Children's Book of the Year, and the winner of the Beatty Award from the California Library Association, and  Fliegelman's Desire (1990); stories, After the Gold Rush (2006); and nonfiction...

• MFA in Fiction, Warren Wilson College.

Kate Folk is the author of Out There (Random House '22), a finalist for the California Book Award in First Fiction. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker , The New York Times , Granta , One Story , McSweeney's Quarterly Concern , and Zyzzyva , among others. A 2019-2021 Wallace Stegner Fellow in Fiction at Stanford University, she's also received support from MacDowell, Willapa Bay AiR, the Headlands Center for the Arts, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She...

• University of San Francisco, MFA in Creative Writing, 2011
• New York University, BA in Individualized Study, 2007

Susan Kiyo Ito

Susan Kiyo Ito is the author of the memoir, I Would Meet You Anywhere, published by the Ohio State University Press, and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. She co-edited the literary anthology A Ghost At Heart’s Edge: Stories & Poems of Adoption. Her work has appeared in The Writer, Literary Mama, Catapult, Hyphen, The Bellevue Literary Review, Agni, Guernica, and elsewhere.  She has been awarded residencies at the MacDowell Colony, The Mesa Refuge, Hedgebrook and Blue...

• Mills College, MFA in Creative Writing, 1994
• Ithaca College, BS in Physical Therapy, 1982
• Asian American literature
• Multiracial literature

Miah Jeffra

Miah Jeffra is the author of four books, most recently The Violence Almanac (finalist for several awards, including the Grace Paley and St. Lawrence Book Prizes) and the novel American Gospel , winner of the Clark-Gross Award, and is co-editor of the anthology Home is Where You Queer Your Heart . His work can be seen in StoryQuarterly, Prairie Schooner, The North American Review, DIAGRAM, storySouth, and many others. Miah is the co-founder of the Whiting Award-winning queer and trans literary...

• California Institute of the Arts, MFA
• San Francisco State University, MA
• Oglethorpe University, BA
• Creative nonfiction
• Visual culture

R. O. Kwon’s Exhibit, a novel, will be published in May 2024 with Riverhead. Kwon’s nationally bestselling first novel, The Incendiaries , has been translated into seven languages and was named a best book of the year by over forty publications. The Incendiaries was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Award. Kwon and Garth Greenwell co-edited the bestselling Kink, a New York Times Notable Book and recipient of the inaugural Joy Award.

Kwon’s writing has appeared in The ...

• MFA, Brooklyn College
• BA, Yale University

Lauren Markham

Lauren Markham writing regularly appears in outlets such as Guernica, Harper's, Orion, Zyzzyva, Freeman's, Lithub, The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Magazine and VQR, where she is a contributing editor. She is the author of The Far Away Brothers: Two Young Migrants and the Making of an American Life, which was the winner of the 2018 Ridenhour Book Prize, the Northern California Book Award, and a California Book Award Silver Prize; it was also named a Barnes & Noble Discover...

• Vermont College of Fine Arts, MFA in Writing, 2010

Maw Shein Win

Maw Shein Win's most recent poetry collection is Storage Unit for the Spirit House (Omnidawn) which was nominated for the Northern California Book Award in Poetry, longlisted for the PEN America Open Book Award, and CALIBA's Golden Poppy Award for Poetry. Win's previous collections include Invisible Gifts and two chapbooks Ruins of a glittering palace and Score and Bone . Win’s Process Note Series features poets and their process. Win often collaborates with visual artists, musicians, and other...

• CSU Long Beach, BA in English, Concentration in Creative Writing

K.M. Soehnlein

K.M. (Karl) Soehnlein is the 2024 recipient of the Jim Duggins, PhD Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize from the Lambda Literary Foundation. He has also received a Lambda Literary Award (novel); IPPY Award (LGBTQ+ Fiction); the Henfield Prize (short fiction); and the SFFILM/Rainin Filmmaking Grant (screenwriting).

He is the author of the novels Army of Lovers (2022), The World of Normal Boys (2000), You Can Say You Knew Me When (2005), and Robin and Ruby (2010). He has been published in the...

• San Francisco State University, MFA in Creative Writing, 1996
• Ithaca College, BS in Cinema Production, 1987
• LGBTQ+ Fiction
• Literary Fiction

Faculty Emeritus

Catherine Brady

Former president, AWP. The Brenda Ueland Prose Prize and the Zoetrope: All Story Short Fiction Prize. Author of three short story collections: The End of the Class War (1999), finalist for the 2000 Western States Book Award, Curled in the Bed of Love (2003), winner of the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction, and The Mechanics of Falling (2009), winner of the Northern California Book Award for Fiction; a biography: Elizabeth Blackburn and the Story of Telomeres: Deciphering the Ends of DNA ...

• MFA in Creative Writing, University of Massachusetts

Aaron Shurin

Aaron Shurin is the author of fourteen books of poetry and prose, most recently The Blue Absolute , from Nightboat Books. Other works include: Flowers & Sky: Two Talks (Entre Rios Books, 2017), The Skin of Meaning: Collected Literary Essays and Talks (University of Michigan Press, 2015), and two books from City Lights: Citizen (poems, 2012) and King of Shadows (essays, 20008). His writing has appeared in over forty national and international anthologies, from The Norton Anthology of Postmodern...

• San Francisco State University
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Master of Fine Arts in Art

The Master of Fine Arts program in Art provides a dynamic interdisciplinary environment within which students are encouraged to develop their creative practice as professional artists. The School of Art has facilities for printmaking, painting and drawing, sculpture, photography, textiles, digital media, and emerging technology, and ceramics. MFA students have access to all of the School of Art facilitates as well as individual and communal MFA studio workspaces. Our faculty are distinguished and professionally active artists and art historians. Students work closely with a graduate advisor/mentor to chart their individual path through the program, including studio seminars, critiques, and individually supervised tutorials. Coursework and seminars in art history and other academic fields complement studio courses, and students are encouraged to develop rigorous research and writing skills to enrich and complement their art practice. All students are provided with individual studio spaces, and there are opportunities for teaching, either as a teaching assistant or instructor of record. Our vibrant visiting artist program introduces students to artists in the Bay Area and beyond, connecting students to the local art community. The M.F.A. degree culminates with a written thesis report and a thesis exhibition in which students exhibit an original body of work. The program is completed in 2 years. Students must pass their first semester review without reservations to continue as a classified Art M.F.A. student.

Admission to Program

Application procedures.

Applications for the master of fine arts in art program are accepted October 1 through February 1 for admission the following fall semester. Late applications will not be accepted.

The graduate admission application to SF State consists of a two-part review. Part One: The Division of Graduate Studies reviews your application for general university admission requirements and requires you to upload copies of transcripts from every college or university attended, including study abroad coursework, community college coursework even if transfer credit appears on your degree transcript. Upload all transcripts to the Program Materials “documents” section of this application. Make sure you resolve any financial obligations at previously attended institutions so they will release your transcripts. You must submit clear, legible copies of transcripts that document your complete academic history. Part Two: The School of Art will review your application for program and discipline-specific criteria. Applicants must complete the Cal State Apply application by the February 1st deadline to be considered for admission. 

Part 1: Apply to the Division of Graduate Studies (Cal State Apply)

• Apply online through Cal State Apply for a Graduate Program. You will be required to create a personal login to manage your application. Select "San Francisco" for campus, and "Art" for the degree program. 
• Pay the $55 USD application fee online by credit card at the moment you submit your application.

Upload copies of transcripts from every college or university attended, including study abroad coursework, community college coursework even if transfer credit appears on your degree transcript. Upload all transcripts to the Program Materials “documents” section of this application. If selected for admission, you will be required to submit official transcripts. If an International Applicant, TOEFL Scores of 550 or better or Internet-Based Test TOEFL Scores of 80 or better are required, taken within two (2) years of the semester you wish to attend. The TOEFL is a requirement by the CSU and cannot be waived.

Part 2: Upload Supplemental Materials for the Program to Cal State Apply

Compile the following supplemental documents for your program file ahead of time to upload in the "Program Materials" portal of the Cal State Apply application:

Program application requirements include:

• An undergraduate art degree or equivalent preparatory degree, with three units of contemporary art history taken within the last five years. If the applicant does not complete this upon admission to the program, enrollment in a contemporary art history class during the first semester is required.
• A 3.0 grade point average in the last 60 units completed in an undergraduate degree.
• M.F.A. admissions application (details below).

Master of Fine Arts Admissions Application Requirements:

Current resume/curriculum vitae.

• Categories should include Education, Exhibitions, Publications, Special Activities and Awards, and Related Employment.
• List information with the most recent activity first.

Creative Work Portfolio

• The submitted portfolio is one of the most critical components of the application.
• The Graduate Selection Committee, composed of the entire full-time art faculty, screens documentation of work in search of candidates with strong artistic direction and promise of continuing in a sustained, independent, and exploratory manner.
• Portfolios not meeting the following requirements will not be reviewed. The organization of your materials is an element that will be considered in evaluating your application.
• The Selection Committee will review a maximum of 20 images from each candidate.
• Images should be labeled with the work’s title, date, media, size, and other significant information.
• Where appropriate, other documentary material is admissible in place of images. This may include films, audio and/or video, or web-based work. If applicable, please include a link in the PDF of the URL for video and/or digital based work.
• Due to time constraints, time-based digital media and films should be cued and cannot exceed three minutes. Short segments should be excerpted from longer pieces. Full-length versions of time-based media can be included as a supplement but should be labeled as such. These versions will not be considered during the first round of the review process.

Written statement

• Please submit a 500 – 1,000 word artist statement that addresses the following: Describe the significance of your work and the concepts, research, and/or processes that drive your studio practice within the context of contemporary artistic practice. Why do you think you are prepared for a  master of fine arts program in studio art and what do you hope to get out of graduate-level study?

Letters of Recommendation

• Three letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation should be from individuals qualified to testify to the applicant's capabilities and readiness to enter graduate study in art.

Transcripts

• Provide transcripts from all institutions of higher learning attended.

Transfer of Credit for Previous Graduate Work

All transfer of credit must be approved on a course-by-course basis by a graduate advisor, the graduate coordinator and the Office of Graduate Studies. This transfer should be arranged before the first semester of graduate studies begins.

A maximum of 12 units total may be transferred towards credit for the master of fine arts in art degree.

• A student previously enrolled in any accredited master of fine arts in art program may transfer up to 12 units from that program.
• A student who has taken graduate courses in an unclassified post-baccalaureate status may transfer no more than six units in studio, and six units of other, credible, coursework, for a total of 12 units.
• A student who has accrued credits both as an enrolled candidate in an accredited master of fine arts in art program and taken courses in an unclassified post-baccalaureate status may transfer no more than 12 units total.

Program Learning Outcomes

1. Able to produce professional creative work – generate a cohesive body of work.

2. Sophisticated understanding of a range of visual art practices.

3. Able to discuss historic, cultural, and contemporary theory related to their own creative work.

4. Must demonstrate commitment to a career in art and potential to grow artistically.

Written English Proficiency Requirement

All students in graduate programs at SF State must demonstrate Level One (entry) and Level Two (exit) writing proficiency in accordance with university, departmental, and or programmatic guidelines.

Level One is satisfied by the successful completion of ARTH 700 .

Level Two is satisfied by the successful completion of ART 706 .

Completion of the Degree

To complete the M.F.A., students must satisfy all University and Department requirements. Department requirements are described in detail in the M.F.A. General Information Brochure. In addition to satisfactory completion of the course of study, other requirements include satisfactory performance on yearly departmental reviews, a creative work exhibition and review, and creative work documentation  (generally in the form of a written thesis report).  The department accepts transfer units on a course-by-course basis, only upon advisement, and in accordance with the limits established in the section entitled Transfer of Credit for Previous Graduate Work of the M.F.A. General Information Brochure. If the creative work project is not complete in the final semester of the program, students must enroll in ART 899 in the semester they intend to graduate. Students are required to be enrolled during the semester in which they graduate.

Art (M.F.A.)  — 60 units

Studio requirements (30 units).

Studio Electives (9 units)

Nine units by advisement. Suggested courses:

Academic Requirements (12 units)

Academic Electives (9 units)

Nine units by advisement may be taken in any department and may include additional academic art history courses/seminars in theory, criticism, history, and directed experience. See MFA Handbook for a list of suggested courses in other departments in the University. Suggested courses in the School of Art:

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William Dickey Fellowship in Poetry

LIBERAL & CREATIVE ARTS Scholarship awarded for Fall semester

• Awarding Department: Creative Writing
• Scholarship Intent: Graduate program recruitment scholarship to recognize achievement in poetry and provide scholarships for poetry students in the MA/ MFA program.
• Criteria: Selected by Creative Writing MFA faculty from amongst the most highly talented writers in the current admittees.
• Major: Single: Creative Writing
• Class Level: Undergrad: N/A; Grad: Masters/ MFA
• Enrollment Status: Entering
• Enrollment Requirement: Undergrad: N/A; Grad: 3 UNITS
• Financial Need as determined by the FAFSA and/or CA Dream App: Not a Requirement
• Citizenship: Any
• GPA : HS GPA : N/A; Undergrad GPA : N/A; Grad GPA : N/A
• Contact Person: Creative Writing Department
• Campus Address: HUM 573
• Street Address: 1600 Holloway, San Francisco, California 94132
• Phone Number: (415) 338-1891
• Email: [email protected]
• Web page: https://creativewriting.sfsu.edu/department-resources
• Number of Awards: varies

You will be automatically considered based on your completed General Application. To complete the General Application, please sign in .

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The MFA Program in fiction and poetry was founded in 1989. Its poets and prose writers have excelled by publishing award-winning collections of poetry, prose and translations. They have received prestigious awards and fellowships, including the American Book Award, the Newbery Medal, the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Stanford’s Stegner, University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Institute for Creative Writing, and Lannan Residency Fellowships. Graduates have gone on to receive university and community college teaching positions and Fulbright scholarships, as well as to establish important presses and organizations that further the cause of their disciplines.

Chris Baron

Chris Baron is the award-winning author of novels for young readers including the novels in verse, All of Me , an NCTE Notable Book, and The Magical Imperfect , a Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable Book, a School Library Journal Best Book of 2021 & the forthcoming novels, The Gray (2023) Forest Heart (2024) from Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan. He's a contributor to the Young Adult Anthology, Every Body Shines (2021) from Bloomsbury, and the author of Lantern Tree: (2012 CityWorks Press), winner of San Diego Book Award. He is a Professor of English at San Diego City College and the director of the Writing Center. He has an MFA in Poetry from SDSU. Originally from New York City, he now lives in San Diego with his family. More at chris-baron.com .

Here is what Chris has to say about our program:

Dan waldman.

D.S. (Dan) Waldman is a 2022-2024 Wallace Stegner fellow at Stanford University. His work has appeared in such publications as Kenyon Review , Poetry Northwest , Narrative , Georgia Review , Gettysburg Review , and Gulf Coast .  At SDSU Dan taught ENG280 and currently directs the organization Poetic Youth, which brings MFA creative writing students into under-resourced high school classrooms to facilitate creative writing workshops. He has received other fellowships, support and awards from Middlebury College, SDSU, Claremont Graduate University, and Georgia Review .

Arthur Kayzakian

Arthur Kayzakian is the winner of the 2021 Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series award for his collection, The Book of Redacted Paintings, which was also selected as a finalist for the 2021 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry. He is the winner of the Finishing Line Press Open Chapbook Competition for his chapbook, My Burning City .  He is a contributing editor at Poetry International and a recipient of the Minas Savvas Fellowship. He serves as the Poetry Chair for the International Armenian Literary Alliance (IALA). His work has appeared in or is forthcoming from several publications, including Taos Journal of International Poetry & Art, Portland Review, Chicago Review , Nat. Brut , Michigan Quarterly Review , Witness Magazine , and Prairie Schooner .

Brent Ameneyro

Brent Ameneyro’s poetry has been published or is forthcoming in Alaska Quarterly Review , Ninth Letter , The Journal , Qu , Azahares , Hispanic Culture Review , and elsewhere. He has been the recipient of the 2019 Sarah B. Marsh Rebelo Excellence in Poetry Scholarship, the 2020 San Miguel Poetry Week Fellowship, the Masters Research Scholarship and the 2021 SRS Research Award for Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice. He serves as Digital Humanities E-Lit Programs Assistant, submissions editor for Poetry International , book review editor for Los Angeles Review, and he is launching the debut of Electronic Literature at Los Angeles Review in summer 2022.  More at www.BrentAmeneyro.com .

Michael Mark

Michael Mark is the author of Visiting Her in Queens is More Enlightening than a Month in a Monastery in Tibet which won the 2022 Rattle Chapbook prize. His poetry has been published in Alaska Quarterly Review, Copper Nickel, Michigan Quarterly Review, Pleiades, Ploughshares, Poetry Northwest, The Southern Review, The New York Times, The Sun, The Poetry Foundation’s American Life in Poetry and other places. He was the recipient of the Anthony Hecht Scholarship at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. He’s the author of two books of stories, Toba and At the Hands of a Thief (Atheneum). He lives with his wife, Lois, a journalist, in San Diego. More at: michaeljmark.com .

McKenna Themm

McKenna Themm , a recipient of a Marsh-Rebelo scholarship,completed a collection of poetry, Ever Yours, Vincent - about the life and art of Vincent van Gogh – and published it with dancing girl press . Her poems have been published in several journals, including The Poet , Ekphrastic Review , Bryant Literary Review , pacificREVIEW , and The Headlight Review , among others. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of the online poetry magazine boats against the current and the managing editor at The Los Angeles Review . 

More Alumni Bios

Hari alluri.

Here is what Hari has to say about our program:

At the book launch for The Flayed City in March 2017, I was surrounded by community members who shared my joy, smiles beaming from faces—many of whom I first encountered during my time at the San Diego State University MFA Program. To say that I could not have written this book if it was not for the generous mentorship of SDSU professors who supported my craft would be an understatement: experimentation and rigor, creativity and craft, the feeling-thinking that poetry requires, all these were honed during my time at SDSU. From workshop to manuscript development, through form, theory and literature, not to mention the opportunities to work with Poetry International and Poetic Youth as well as to experience the visiting poets that the program supported in bringing to the school, all of these have been crucial to my personal and professional growth. As a writer and a scholar, I will always carry—gratefully—my time SDSU with me.

Susan Conley

Here is what Susan has to say about our program:

I arrived at SDSU as a Mainer who wanted to write poems. I left as a fledgling teacher and a writer who was as hooked on non-fiction and fiction as stanzas. I am indebted to the program for allowing me to take classes across genres. I am indebted for the rigor of the literature seminars and for throwing me into the fire as a second year grad student teaching a room full of freshman comp students. I learned about the power of story to change lives in those classrooms. I've kept so much of what I took from SDSU and San Diego close to my heart. 

Karla Cordero

Here is what Karla has to say about our program:

I'm grateful to SDSU for teaching me the importance of community as an essential value to my life as a writer. The relationships I've established with my professors, colleagues, and mentors has taught me that language is truly magic and transformative the moment it is shared beyond yourself. I cannot begin to thank the program for seeing the potential locked inside this shy quiet person I once was. I thank you for giving me the space to create, the mentorship to be reckless and free with art, the platform to find my voice when I needed it the most.

Matt de la Peña

Matt de la Peña Matt de la Peña is the New York Times Bestselling, Newbery Medal-winning author of seven young adult novels (including Mexican WhiteBoy, We Were Here , and Superman: Dawnbreaker ) and six picture books (including Milo Imagines the World and Last Stop on Market Street ). In 2016 he was awarded the NCTE Intellectual Freedom Award. Matt received his MFA in creative writing from San Diego State University and his BA from the University of the Pacific where he attended school on a full basketball scholarship. In 2019 Matt was given an honorary doctorate from UOP. He currently lives in Southern California. He teaches creative writing and visits schools and colleges throughout the country.

Here is what Matt has to say about our program:

I will say, SDSU holds a special place in my heart. I showed up a scrubby kid with a literary dream and a lot of heart. And I left campus as a real writer. I realized that writing is hard work, and if there was one thing I knew I could bring to the table it was discipline. The extra year, dedicated to literature classes, was the part of the program I feared the most, but it turned out to be vital to my growth. I also have to credit the faculty. I carry SDSU with me everywhere I go these days. 

Kevin Dublin

Here is what Kevin has to say about our program:

The cohort I met, the creative practice I was taught, the professors I was blessed to learn craft from as a part of the MFA program at SDSU are unmatched and the reason I have been able to develop into the poet, educator, and advocate that I am. I've taken those skills and been able to transfer them into funds to live a full-time literary life where I get to teach creative writing in the community, publish my work, and build platforms for others. And to be able to learn what you learn in the most beautiful city in the United States, just across the border from a vibrant international poetry scene in Tijuana was a gift. My heart is filled with gratitude. And anyone considering applying to the program, should just decide to do it. I moved across the country not fully knowing what to expect, mid-divorce, with only two suitcases, and admiration for the professors who I only knew through their amazing work printed on pages. It's a decision I would make a thousand times over. You will fall in love in San Diego.

Photo credit LexMexArt at Mechanics Institute SF 

Keith Enterante

Here is what Keith has to say about our program:

The MFA program at SDSU was the best experience of my writing life to date, and it’s not even close. I miss everyone every day. 

Jamie Asaye Fitzgerald

Here is what Jamie has to say about our program:

The MFA program afforded me the freedom to write, study, and teach in a supportive environment, while providing me with a foundation from which to build a literary life and community. I am thankful to have studied with such a variety of incredible writers and teachers—Sandra Alcosser, Marilyn Chin, Glover Davis, Wanda Coleman, Sharon Bryan, Jerry Farber, Joanne Meschery, David Matlin, and Hal Jaffe to name a few—each of whom has shaped my work and perspective in some way. The program also prepared me professionally as a teacher, an experience that I have treasured and take great pride in. Going for an MFA in poetry felt like a big risk, but it has been invaluable in my career as a nonprofit arts administrator and writer.

Piotr Florczyk

Here is what Piotr has to say about our program:

When I entered the MFA Program at SDSU in the fall of 2004, I did not know how to write a poem, though I tried to convince myself otherwise, nor could I talk about how poems work. I was as green as they come. What I did have going for me was the discipline, gained from years of being a competitive swimmer, and belief that poetry mattered and that if I worked very hard I could at least hope to become a part of the literary community. The two years I spent in the Program, working under the tutelage of its distinguished faculty, especially Sandra Alcosser, were a crash course in poetry reading and critiquing and writing, activities that continue to shape who I am as a writing artist and teacher. More importantly, however, I learned during my time at SDSU that poetry is an art form whose roots and traditions are indispensable if we hope to understand the world and our place in it.

Diana García

Here is what Diana has to say about our program:

My three years in the MFA program were some of the most challenging and gratifying of my life. My mentors in the program taught me new ways of seeing the world and my place in it. One of the greatest benefits of SDSU's program is the opportunity to learn from different professors, finding the grain of wisdom in each of their aesthetics and using those to build up your own art. 

Erica Lowe Karlin

Carlos Gabriel Kelly González 

Breeann Kyte Kirby

Here is what Breeann has to say about our program:

After years of being the only creative writer among scientists, I came to SDSU for the literary community, connections, and creative stimuli. With the support of the faculty here as well as my fellow students, I found these things. During my time here, I have made life-long writing companions who provide important dialogue and feedback, champion my work and encourage me to be brave. 

Ron Lauderbach

Ron Lauderbach started his professional career as  truck driver and retired forty-two years later as a high school English and journalism teacher. He has always enjoyed poetry but became serious about writing it when he attended a weekly poetry workshop at San Diego Writers, Ink, Creative Writing program. He earned his MFA in 2019. Ron has been published in several Journals and is 2022 finalist in the Steve Kowit Poetry Contest. He has a book out from Kelsay Books, entitled, Snapshots.

Here is what Ron has to say about our program:

The SDSU Creative Writing MFA requires 54 graduate credits. The school allows five years for a student to complete the course, but I did it in two and one half. Sandra Alcosser, founder and head of the department, helped me design my curriculum. I was fortunate to have Professor Ilya Kaminsky for my first 750P class. I accidentally enrolled in a final manuscript class normally taken by final semester students. Professor Alcosser insisted I stay in the class. I grew an academic foot taller. The program requires students study diverse subjects, and this allowed me to take a short stories class with Stephen-Paul Martin. I came out of Professor Martin’s class with a broader perspective and request for prose writers and  skills.  Professor Megan Marshall’s Living Writers series is instrumental in the MFA. Students are exposed monthly to successful writers, many emanating from SDSU.I took three 750P classes with Professor Blas Falconer, and grew a lot. The classes were run as a poetry workshop, where Professor Falconer and our peers gave feedback on our poems. I was back with Sandra Alcosser, in my final manuscript class but this time she expected more from me and got it, as she supported and cajoled. I should mention the department staff. Mary Garcia is always around to cheerfully give students sage advice on whatever we ask. I left the MFA program confident and enthusiastic because I now had the skills I needed to pursue my writing goals.

Bill Luvaas

Here is what Bill has to say about our program:

Above all, when I think about the MFA program at SDSU I think of the people I came to know there, fellow students and faculty members, many of whom remain friends over 20 years later: Jay Blinn, Jennifer Ball, Jerry Bumpus, Joe Milosch, Leilani Higley, Eric Madeen, Victoria Featherstone, Glover Davis, Sandra Alcosser and others.  It was a close-knit and supportive  community of writers.  We spent many evenings hanging out at Jerry Bumpus’s place in Escondido, discussing books, writing, and politics.  One of the highlights was a novel workshop wherein eight of us read and critiqued each other’s entire novels, three of which were published by major houses, including my own Going Under.  I had a chance to teach courses in writing and literature as a GTA which proved invaluable to me as I continued teaching at SDSU and other universities.

Carolann Madden

Here is what Carolann has to say about our program:

Before I came to SDSU, not only had I never workshopped a poem, I had hardly ever shown my poetry to anyone. I entered the MFA program incredibly shy, and barely confident in my work and my ability to edit a poem; however, the wonderfully patient, dedicated, and creative faculty at SDSU fostered an environment in which I could comfortably share my poetry, and grow in my craft. And I did grow. Immensely. Now, thanks to the genuine support of professors like Sandra Alcosser and Ilya Kaminsky, I will be embarking on a PhD with an emphasis in poetry this fall. Ultimately, I feel so lucky to have spent the past three years at SDSU, among people who truly understand the value of human expression, and I can honestly say that I have never felt more encouraged, inspired, stimulated, or understood than I have during my time in this program. 

Eric Madeen

Here's what Eric has to say about our program:

Before entering the MFA program I was writing in isolation and, alas, without much community and growth. Once in the MFA program at SDSU I had immediate support and with it the feedback from putting my work under fire with those of kindred writers. My worldview expanded exponentially, and since I had discerning readers and pals in workshops I was motivated to hump the bejesus out of the muse which resulted in my first novel "Water Drumming in the Soul" -- nominated by faculty twice for entry in LA Arts Council and AWP competitions. It was a heady time and so highly recommended. 

Sarah Brenda Marsh Rebelo

Her poems have been published in Avocet, California Anthology of Poets, the San Diego Review, The New Jersey Times, The Foundation for Women Celebration, Anthology of Creative Writing San Diego State University, Perigee Magazine, San Diego Poetry Annual, Foothill Journal of Poetry, 27 rue de fleures and other journals. Her first book pf poetry, O ver My Shoulder , was published in 2013 and is dedicated to her family.

Here is what Sarah has to say about our program:

With pleasure I offer my thoughts about the MFA program in Creative Writing at San Diego State University. I was honored to study there as a mature student from 2007 until 2012. Constantly encouraged and challenged by the younger students I was privileged to push myself and grow. The result was my first book of poetry, Over My Shoulder. Words are always floating in my mind, the second book en route as I write. The encouragement and talent of the faculty are second to none. It was an honor to be accepted into this program and to study with the erudite and committed professors who opened the windows of my mind and stoked the fire in my belly.

David Tomas Martinez

Here is what David has to say about our program:

SDSU is where I learned I wanted to be a writer, where I first learned how to be a writer, and where I met some of the most important people in my life. I owe so much of my trajectory as a writer to being an Aztec. The quality of the faculty, familial atmosphere among the students, and and the constant supply of some the best Mexican food in this country are all reasons that make our program stellar. I am proud to be a graduate of SDSU, and I am proud to stand with all of you. 

Carly Joy Miller 

Here is what Carly Joy has to say about our program:

My time at San Diego State University as an MFA candidate in Poetry (2011-2014) was everything I could ever dream possible. My undergraduate professors emphasized that you should discover your community as soon as possible and keep in touch with them, and I found plenty of support from my professors and peers during and post getting my MFA. Workshops were vibrant, with everyone invested in what the possibilities of one’s poems could be. I received feedback, reading recommendations, and countless perspectives toward flipping a poem on its head to bring out its true nature. San Diego State also emphasized delving into literature courses in order to deepen our creative work. As the creative act is also a critical act, professors allowed our essays to form into lyric, for us to bring our writing style and analysis to their classes in ways that could reflect into our creative work.

San Diego State provides many opportunities for professional development as well. I taught classes alongside gaining editorial experience as Poetry International’s lead copy editor, which allowed me to strengthen my skillset for the eventual job market. Poetry International and the Living Writers Series hosted readings and events that not only offered opportunities to interact with living translators and writers, but serve as a way to celebrate our community and discover worlds and languages beyond our community.

My first readers are still friends I met at San Diego State, and the first people I send any news regarding writing to as well. I am so delighted to continue to celebrate San Diego State’s successes, and for the vibrant community in sunny San Diego that continues to encourage wildness and diversity.

Here is what Jim has to say about our program:

The MFA program at SDSU with its balance of literature courses, theory, and intensive writing workshops where I was able to write poetry and fiction did a lot to give me both intellectual depth and range as a writer.  The fact that I was also able to teach writing and work in an editorial capacity with Fiction International while honing my craft was also immensely valuable in that it gave me the opportunity to learn new skills that opened doors for me professionally.

Jennifer Minniti-Shippey 

Here is what Jenny has to say about our program:

The MFA in Creative Writing at SDSU was both a launch point for my career, as well as a doorway to relationships with writers that continue to sustain my creative life. I'm grateful for the opportunities the MFA provided, and I loved SDSU and San Diego so much that I stuck around for another ten years! 

Richard Robbins

Kayla Rodney

Here is what Kayla has to say about our program:

My time at the MFA was both exciting and terrifying at the same time. Terrifying because it was my first time away from home, but exciting because I got to work almost exclusively on my craft. In this time I learned what it means to actually create a collection of poetry which, after you’ve learned how to write something good, is the most important step in my opinion. Having a collection of connected poems that flow from one to the next and beginning to end makes something not only readable, but enjoyable. This also helped me as a scholar because now, as I examine texts, I am able to better see what makes a well written book. I can better see the connections between the chapters, themes, characters, etc. (most of the focus now is the novel, alas). It also helps me better see purposeful actions taken by the author because being at SDSU, I myself was formed into an author and can relate to the texts I read at both creative and scholarly levels, a big advantage in the classroom. 

Erin Rodoni

Here is what V. has to say about our program:

Attending SDSU's MFA program helped me connect with people who had similar dreams for their writing, people who were driven and inspired, people who had visions for what the world could become. I've made so many close friendships that not even distance or time could break and I'm thankful for them and for all the work and care they put into my words. Without SDSU, I wouldn't have found them. For that reason, I'm superbly grateful.

Stephen Silke

Ephraim Scott Sommers

Renee Swindle

Brenda Taulbee

Here is what Brenda has to say about our program:

Kimball Taylor

Watch an interview with him on CNN

Tana Jean Welch

Here is what Tanya has to say about our program:

It was a very important, transformative time in my life as a person and a writer. I learned what it means to dedicate one's self to the craft of writing, and what it means to be a poet. SDSU is special to me because the program focused on art and craft, not on publishing and recognition. 

Timothy Daniel Welch

Here is what Timothy has to say about our program:

I wanted to write, and get good at it. I wanted to call upon my betters as they called on me, bettering myself along the way. I wanted to enlarge my creative and critical interests with stimulating subjects and communities, and to find within each that space cleared for the poem, what John Donne called that “little world made cunningly.” At San Diego State I found more than a University or Masters program, I found a world that enriched my spirit, broadened my literary perspectives, and provided a model that I continue to follow these ten years since I left. I also met my wife there, in a poetry workshop.

Renée Westbrook

Carla Wilson

Her art and writing have appeared in print and online journals including Fiction International , Poetry International , and Talking Writing . Her first book, Impossible Conversations: Imaginary Interviews with World-Famous Artists , was published in 2015 by Black Scat Books . Her second volume, Curious Impossibilities: Ten Cinematic Riffs , was released in 2017 and features ten creative responses to ten classic films and addresses the nature of dreams vs. reality, memory and love.  Her ongoing list of publications can be found at: https://carlamwilson.wordpress.com/publications .

Here is what Carla has to say about our program:

The MFA program in Creative Writing at SDSU literally changed my life. I am still in contact with many of my MFA colleagues, some with whom I have formed life-long friendships and/or professional relationships. The curriculum is rigorous, engaging, and inspiring; the staff and faculty are always available and attentive, the environment is supportive, collaborative, and creative. I received critical and useful feedback, made important connections within the literary community, learned tricks and tools of the trade, and had hands-on experience interning for a literary journal. The work does not create itself, but if writing and creating is what you love, I can’t think of a better place to hone one’s skills and open one’s mind.

Martin Woodside

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The mission of the Creative Writing Department is to make our writers attentive readers of the literatures of the world and socially aware members of society, who can use writing of self-expression, explorations of the possibilities of the medium, as well as in service of social causes and concerns.

To this end, we employ well-published and well-recognized faculty to teach in our undergraduate, masters and masters of fine arts program, in which they guide students in the production and revision of their craft in creative nonfiction, fiction, playwriting, poetry and literary translation. By studying elements of craft, process, vision and revision, we prepare our students to become practicing creative writers and often teachers, professors, editors, publishers, translators and arts organization professionals as well. We wish to instill confidence in them to remain in the field and continue their commitment and contribution to the literary arts.

Our Creative Writing Program was established in 1955 as part of the English Department and founded in 1968 as The Creative Writing Department. We offer three degree programs and a minor: B.A. in Creative Writing, M.A. in Creative Writing; and M.F.A. in Creative Writing. Our curriculum reflects our commitment to a variety of styles, subjects, and approaches, recognizing the complexity and breadth of contemporary writing. Graduates of our Creative Writing Program, Graduate and Undergraduate (creative nonfiction, fiction, playwriting and poetry), are instructed in literary analysis and develop their craft to constructively critique their own work and that of others. Students are prepared to participate in the larger community of writers with innovative writing in all four genres.

A great many of our students, and alumni go on to publish imaginative work of distinction; many others are in positions of leadership in publishing firms, foundations and art organizations.

We are honored to be associated with the Poetry Center and American Poetry Archives. Internationally known, the center augments our programs, sponsoring approximately fifty visiting writers per year, on campus and at various locations around San Francisco.

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